“It is not true that ACORN is closed for business all across the country. It still exists. Bertha Lewis is still the CEO," said Mr. Whelan.

ACORN became the center of a summertime scandal after two conservative activists videotaped some of the group’s members offering advice on skirting tax laws and setting up a prostitution ring. Read Monitor coverage here.

The group tried to deflect the subsequent firestorm of criticism by firing some of the employees caught on tape and launching an internal investigation, but the damage that followed may prove too much for a group that conservatives have long charged uses tax dollars to advance a Democratic agenda.